FILE - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speak during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, April 18, 2024. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called Wednesday, June 5, 2024, for a “windfall” tax on profits of fossil …GENEVA — U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called Wednesday for a “windfall” tax on profits of fossil fuel companies to help pay for the fight against global warming, decrying them as the “godfathers of climate chaos.
The burning of fossil fuels - oil, gas and coal - is the main contributor to global warming caused by human activity. “This forecast is affirmation that the world has entered a climate where years that are as hot as 2023 should no longer be a surprise,” Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, said in an email of the WMO forecast.
He repeated concerns about subsidies paid out in many countries for fossil fuels, which help keep prices low for consumers.